The Warrior was certain that he had left the Thief behind and in a sticky situation. He had crossed the road that the Giant hunted on and the Thief would surely have a hard time of it. On his way here he had been accosted by wild beasts occasionally, but they were no real threat. He would have let them pass but they had been of another mindset. Bolton had fashioned the claws and teeth of the slain animals into a necklace and insisted that it be worn as a trophy. The Warrior could not see upsetting the little old Gnome so he forced himself to don the thing.

At last he came to the place that the ‘rat’ had told him about. He was quite dismayed by what he saw. There was the old wyrm as promised but it was quite dead. Near it was a thing that made him grow cold in the remembering of it. He would know the uncanny creature anywhere. The thing that had pounced on him like some animal and drained a...he could not finish the train of thought. How could he approach such an unnatural thing? It was moving the stones aside and it was clear that they sought the same prize.

Surprise was on his side, correct? If he could attack swiftly and decisively the ghoulish monster may not have time to turn its power on him. The Warrior attacked!

The Ghoul turned in swift smooth move and saw the crazed Warrior bearing down on him. It gripped the Rune Sword and spat into the dead dragon’s eye...it was enough. The corpse of the enormous reptile began to stir, its dead brain retaining the recent memory of a fight for survival, a fight it had lost.

Undaunted the Warrior bore down on them, yelling a fearful battle cry. He was a whirlwind of destruction. He wielded his trusty axe and a broad sword he had acquired.

The Ghoul, having managed to take possession of the Rune Sword, joined the battle in earnest. The undead dragon took the first brunt of the Warriors fury and did not hold together well. It died its second death under the well schooled science of a trained fighting man.

Lunge and parry as he might the Ghoul found no opening in the Warriors web of steel that he wove about himself. Just one prick of the ancient blade would end the mad mans assault and feed his Hunger at the same time.

The Warrior jumped to avoid a leg sweep by the Ghoul and turned it into a powerful kick to the horrible things sword hand. The Ghoul felt no real pain but the jarring hit sent the Rune Sword hurtling from his grasp.

“Noooo!’ it rasped. Cursing the Ghoul fled.

The Warrior claimed his prize, sniffed at the twice dead dragon and moved on ready to meet the next challenge on his quest.

The Thief, on the other hand, was in a state fit to be tied. The Warrior had lost him in the craggy area near the mountains and he was surly well in advance of him. Well, no matter, he did not want the buffoon to know he was near in any case. What he needed to do would be best done in the dark. It would be a bit of revenge for that serpent that had gotten the better of him as well. The poison from the thing still caused his arm to ache and burn. Night was falling and the Thief was looking to make a bed as best he could when he felt a low rumble.

“Ah...a little sausage for my table!” The low voice could be felt in one’s belly.

The Giant strode forward faster than a man could run, and run the Thief did. He was no match for this nightmare! The Giant bellowed his anger at his quarry’s lack of cooperation. Determined not to be denied his supper the Giant hurled its tree trunk at the fleeing figure.

This turned out to be a mistake on his part for, while a branch from the gigantic missile did clip the Thief in the head, it also caused a blinding cloud of leaves and birds to fill the air, as well as fell several lesser trees.

The Thief ran on, his head swimming, unsure of what direction he was going. Finally out of air he collapsed in a heap, certain that whatever the Giant might do would be a mercy.

As he rolled over the twilight descended and it became quiet but for the sounds of insects and night creatures...then it gripped him.

The same cold feeling that the spirit in the woods had given him, but there was no seduction this time. Cold hands clasped on him and dry teeth gnawed at his exposed flesh. His heart fluttered and he grew cold, then sleepy and he fell into eternity never to return.